The festival season varies from city to city; Mardis Gras often refers to the last day of Shrovetide (or Fastelavn or Carnival), thus being synonymous with Shrove Tuesday. Some traditions, such as the one in New Orleans, Louisiana, consider Mardi Gras to stretch the entire period from Twelfth Night (the last night of Christmas which begins Epiphany) to Ash Wednesday. Others treat the final three-day period before Ash Wednesday as the Mardi Gras.